Did you fight for the rib? People get shanked for such things.
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Has anybody ever been to the restaurant in Kevin’s review - Pina’s? Looked at the menu and seems like a typical red sauce joint you’d find back in Queens.
i don’t recall being upset by the cost of meal at the las vegas carbone. and it was darn tasty.
also, last time i was at lotus of siam, i found it meh. would rather eat thai here in l.a. plenty
of better places than lotus of siam to eat at in vegas; although i would go to lotus again.
The fact that home cooks make it just as well if not better. I mean, something like a veal parm or spaghetti and meatballs is a staple in a lot of households and people make it quite well at home—the idea of paying so much for it becomes almost comical. The limitations on a restaurant in terms of long-prep dishes also often makes them not as good as you would get it at home from a decent cook.
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o.k. but you realize you’re not just paying for the spaghetti and meatballs, right? you’re paying rent, insurance, taxes, staff, etc.
your mom works dirt cheap and doesn’t accept tips.
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I’m only willing to pay for those things if it’s something I can’t make easily at home on a Tuesday or Wednesday night. Otherwise, what’s the point? I don’t go out to eat to provide charity/staff coverage.
It’s quite hard to justify paying through the nose for Rao’s when I can get better plates of pasta at Pasta Sisters for under $10 and not be surrounded by d-bags.
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Yeah but I think the point is you’re not going on a nice date or taking a client to Pasta Sisters.
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Fair enough. I’m definitely not taking either to Rao’s or Carbone either, so I guess it’s just a matter of taste.
[quote=“TheCookie, post:38, topic:4226, full:true”]
No, I didn’t mean for it to come off as big being bad.
But for many, a large portion nowadays connotes “quantity over quality” – ie. Macaroni Grill or Golden Corral.
here’s the point: i feel like eating spaghetti and meatballs, i don’t feel like cooking, want to gaze at and converse with someone else while being waited upon by good looking and/or professionals, hork down some cocktails i don’t have to make and drink some wine i don’t have and i don’t want to clean up. that’s the point.
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No.
I order the veal parm just for me only.
While I don’t necessarily disagree with you, there is something about dining out that simply cannot be replicated dining in at home.
Let’s use Carbone as an example.
Yes, the veal parm (as well as a handful of other dishes like the Ceasar salad, meatballs, etc.) are fantastic and, yes, your wonderful mom could probably make an equally fantastic veal parm dish at home for no doubt less than the retail menu price at Carbone.
But what your mom cannot do is replicate the experience of enjoying your meal at Carbone. The atmosphere, the frivolity reverberating from the din in the dining room, the option to liquor up with some single malt scotches or craft (or is it “crafty”?) cocktails, and simply to have the occasion to go out and leave your worries behind for a few hours, if not the entire night.
That’s part of the price of admission at Carbone. And for me, I have no problems paying it. YOLO. And you can’t take it with you and you leave.
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I mean a restaurant is so much more than what’s on the plate. Service, decor, “vibe,” and ultimately that extra level of quality. I’ll happily pay for an experience at Carbone despite the fact that the cost of ingredients on the plate isn’t necessarily justified for every item.
hey don’t judge Haeldaur, you don’t know his situation.
Maybe his mom wears a red jacket and serves him tableside caesars and bananas foster.
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Perfectly said. It’s ridiculous for me to pay more than a few bucks for dishes like lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, veal parmesan and the like, which I will gladly make at home. I’ll know the quality is there and there’s no real risk that we won’t enjoy the finished product.
The markup on joints that charge $45 bucks or more for a red sauce-style entree is ridiculous. While paying big money for fine dining makes perfect sense - sushi grade fish, foie gras, dry aged prime meat and other similar ingredients are expensive - dry pasta (even the very good stuff) San Marzano tomatoes and the relatively humble cuts of meat that go into these red sauce dishes are relatively cheap. It’s important to point out that the origin of this food is among the peasants and working classes of southern Italy and then the urban working classes of East Coast cities. Elevating it to the level of fine dining - and charging fine dining prices - makes no sense.
In addition, there is no “R&D” to create recipes and little of the overhead that comes with developing new menus, hiring a cutting edge designer to make the place look pretty, etc. The recipes for most of these familiar dishes are 100 years old or more and the checkered table cloths and hanging chianti bottles don’t cost very much.
[quote=“ipsedixit, post:51, topic:4226”]
But for many, a large portion nowadays connotes “quantity over quality” – ie. Macaroni Grill or Golden Corral.
[/quote]Yeah… I was teasin’. I knew that’s where you were going with that. And your description of the preparation, flavor and size makes $65 more palatable, so to speak.
Hell has frozen over? 
After reading this thread, I’m so hungry…
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Damn I want that Caesar salad now.
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I want to see Marty and Elayne next week and I am craving some spaghetti and meatballs.
Would Little Doms be the choice? What else should I get at Little Doms?